Greener on the other side - a Donegal graduate’s transition to life in the Big Apple

It may be a heady mixture of the weird and the wonderful, but in some ways, being in New York reaffirms our Irishness. In the search for familiarity among the sea of unknown faces and unfamiliar places, we gravitate towards Irish bars like we’ve never been in them before and feel an instant connection with other Irish immigrants. It is ironic that home seems to come closer, in that Ireland becomes part of our identity rather than just somewhere we’re from.

Despite missing friends and family, money restrictions and the promised donation of organs to secure some Barry’s tea and Kerrygold butter, I am one of the many to have fallen under the spell of New York City and know that it is an experience I will never forget.